The Phantom Sound

Have you ever experienced hearing sounds in your ears which you are so sure that nobody else is hearing it as well? It could be a ringing, buzzing, hissing, chirping, whispering, blowing of the wind sound, or to quote a patient, dengar orang mengaji dalam telinga (hearing someone recite the Quran). That last part was quite random, but for the other sounds, they are quite common complaints. In fact, my niece and partner are experiencing the ringing sounds.

This hearing symptom is called tinnitus. Tinnitus is sound heard in the ears which are not externally stimulated. It is a phantom auditory perception. Almost everyone has tinnitus; but it could either be normal tinnitus or pathological tinnitus.

Normal tinnitus is experienced by most people. It occurs less than 5 minutes, less than once a week and is not associated with hearing loss.

On the other hand, pathological tinnitus occurs more than 5 minutes, more than once a week and usually heard by people with hearing loss. The severity ranges from acceptable to unacceptable. By acceptable means that the sounds do not disturb you from doing tasks, while unacceptable means the sounds affect you to a point you have to stop doing whatever you are doing whenever it occurs. In this case, it is very frustrating for that person.

The duration of the tinnitus could be temporary, occurring only at a certain position and situation (e.g. when you're lying on your bed, preparing to sleep; when you're in a very noisy place). It could also be permanent, meaning it's there 24/7.

The causes of tinnitus varies: it could be due to noise exposure, Meniere's Disease, medication, food intake, lots of ear wax and idiopathic (unknown), even.

Usually, if the sounds heard are high pitched in nature, it is usually associated with high frequency hearing loss, while low pitch tinnitus relates to low frequency hearing loss. That's why if you are experiencing this symptom, it is advisable to immediately have your hearing assessed, as to ensure that your hearing is not affected and is not the cause of the tinnitus.

Referring to the pamphlet my coursemates did for our Audiology Seminar, there are several approaches for tinnitus management and treatment. They are:

1. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) that includes directive/retraining counseling and sound therapy;

2. Masking of tinnitus using hearing aids (for those with hearing loss, of course), tinnitus maskers (apparently downloadable), tinnitus instruments;

3. Medication such as anti-depressant, anti-convulsant (tegretol, phenytoin, mysoline, depakene), anti-histamine (meclizine), vasodilators (gingko biloba, niacin);

4. Psychological treatment of cognitive therapy, cognitive restructuring, attention diversion techniques, imagery training, relaxation training, hypnosis;

5. Other treatments: TinniTool (developed in Switzerland, see picture below); Neuromonic; biofeedback; and electrical stimulation.



One particular treatment I would like to stress on would be the Sound Therapy as it is an easy, self-practised approach. The therapy facilitates tinnitus habituation by weakening the tinnitus signal. Patient is instructed to avoid silence and to enrich the background noise by listening to music, using table-top sound machines or wearable sound generators.

For the medication part, it is strongly advised to get them as medically consulted.

*Compliments to Chan Soon Chien, Suriya Mohamad, Tan Ping Meng and Ong Chun Suan @ the Purple Phantom :)

Kiss of Deaf

Someone sent me an e-mail, regarding a girl who got a kiss of deaf from her boyfriend. I guess that particular someone thought it might interest me as it is related to the field of hearing, and it did. Read on first before going through my thoughts :)

A young Chinese woman was left partially deaf following a passionate kiss from herboyfriend.


The 20-something from Zhuhai in Guangdong province arrived at hospital having completely lost the hearing in her left ear, said local reports.


The incident prompted a series of articles in the local media warning of the dangers of excessive kissing.


"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," wrote the China Daily.


The doctor who treated the girl in hospital was quoted in the paper explaining what had happened.


"The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear."


The chorus of warnings was echoed by the Shanghai Daily, which wrote: "A strong kiss may cause an imbalance in the air pressure between two inner ears and lead to a broken ear drum."


The young woman is expected to regain her full hearing within about two months.

Upon reading this, I just thought, there are so many holes in the story!

Did the girl realize she has hearing loss exactly after she kissed that guy? Was it her first time kissing her boyfriend? If it wasn't, was the kisses they had before were not as passionate as that 'kiss of deaf'? What was the girl's hearing history? Was the doctor even an ENT doctor?

It was reported that the girl is expected to regain her full hearing within about two months. What is the nature of the hearing loss? Conductive (temporary) hearing loss? Sensorineural hearing loss, meaning that it is sudden hearing loss?

These are just some of the questions that are flowing through my mind. It is just so bizarre! Especially since it is the first time I heard of this.

If it is really possible, then I advise all passionate kissers to take note. You won't want to be a deaf kisser now would you? ;P

xoxo!

Ladies, We Can Make a Difference!

Come join me, Nor, and many others to The Pink Sisterhood!
This one is all about breast cancer, which everyone knows is one of the most life-threatening diseases today. I’m doing my part in spreading awareness on breast cancer by sharing some scary yet so very true facts on breast cancer. Ladies, do take note!

* One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
* Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
* Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
* Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
* Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women between the ages of 15 and 54,
and the second cause of cancer death in women aged 55 to 74.
* Risks for breast cancer include a family history, atypical hyperplasia, early menstruation
(before age 12), late menopause (after age 55), current use or use in the last ten years of oral
contraceptives, and daily consumption of alcohol.
* Early detection of breast cancer, through monthly breast self-exam and particularly yearly
mammography after age 40, offers the best chance for survival. Above facts taken from
Women’s Health Organisation Forum.

And now here is the tag and the rules:
1. Put the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.


I would like to share this specially with: -
1. Mas
2. Fadilah
3. Nora
4. Ayu
5. Atiqah
6. mashanapi

*and 1 more soon to come. I just realized I am not an avid blog follower. Just wrapped up in my own little world. Note to self: it's not just about you! hehe.

If At First You Don't Succeed, Dust Yourself Off and Try Again

I recently had my clinical exam. I was given an adult case. In the clinical exam, I have to perform basic audiology assessments which are otoscopy examination (to check the outer ear), acoustic immittance test (to check the middle ear and auditory pathway) and also the pure tone audiometry (hearing test). One hour was given to complete all that including giving feedback to the patient.

I had about two weeks to prepare for my session. So I studied and studied and hungout a few times in between studying. By the time it was my turn, I thought I was ready. Nervous, but ready. I thought that I had it in me to do well.

On that day, fate decided otherwise. I had an army as my patient; from the moment I was seated on the chair across him, he was hitting on me. Because of his irrelevant, inappropriate, unprofessional and gross behavior, I became a wreck. My nerves could not settle and I was so uncomfortable, I wanted to finish the session. Fast.

It wasn't a session I would treasure in my heart, and I don't feel like telling everybody who bothers to read this blog what I went through. But basically I didn't do well and the lecturers thought they were giving me a chance to repeat and perform my usual best.

Chance? Haha. If they hadn't given me that kind of patient in the first place, I don't think I would have needed to repeat. They even told me it was a good experience, something that I had experience first ahead of my coursemates. Ha ha. Aren't they just funny? At least they admitted that I am one of the best student. Thus, my ego was not totally bruised.

Oh, the lecturers also told me that, my session with the army was his third visit to the clinic. For the first session, it was with a male lecturer (so of course he wouldn't be hitting on him); second with a third-year student, and he didn't show the unnecessary behavior. Only with my session that guy behaved like that, which was a surprise to the lecturers as well. I concluded it was due to my natural beauty and adorableness that got him to act like he did. Another ego-booster, and yet the thought does not comfort me.

Looking back at it positively, maybe there is a reason on why I have to repeat. Maybe it is a way of telling me that there will be days when I can't be on top all the time. Sometimes you have to fall to appreciate success. And by repeating, I am going to study a lot more, and strengthen my knowledge.

Thanks to everyone who supported me, especially Nor. You're the best :)

Live Your Life

I am relating so much to this song after I went through my clinical exams.
Just as a motivation to self, even though the lyrics don't exactly reflect what I went through.
I especially liked the opening quotes in the videoclip.
Feel free to watch and listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQiQSaDs9aQ

Sweet Nothing in My Ear

I was going to study Hearing Aids when I took a breakie to see what movie my sister was watching. I immediately decided to watch the whole movie when I saw it was about a deaf child (naturally).

The movie is entitled as the above, starring Jeff Daniels, the only actor I recognized. It was released early this year (I think) and I watched it on HBO. Here's a synopsis of the movie.

It's about a couple, normal hearing husband (Dan) and deaf wife (Laura) with a deaf child (Adam). Adam is 8 years old. He was not born deaf; he lost his hearing at the age of 4 and had speech. Since then, he didn't use his voice at all and had been using sign language taught by his mother to communicate with his parents and other people who knows that language.

Laura was also born deaf to deaf parents. Her father was a writer who's very passionate about the deaf culture. He thought deaf people should only use sign language and those wearing amplification of hearing aids and cochlear implants are people who are ashamed to be deaf. He also thought that normal hearing people are prejudiced against the deaf people. Dan thought his father-in-law never really accepted him.

Anyway.

One day, Adam hurt himself while running for his balloon amidst shouts from Dan, which Adam of course could not hear. Dan brought him to the emergency room and told the doctor what happened. The doctor suggested for Dan to consider cochlear implants but Dan flat out refused, saying he accepted Adam the way he is.

Fast forward, Dan became interested in cochlear implants but this interest was not shared with Laura. Laura didn't think cochlear implants is the best option for Adam, even when she saw herself an implanted child during the switch-on session (switch-on session is the time when the electrodes implanted in the cochlear are activated). She just thought of the possibilities on how the implant would not benefit Adam, instead of the many opportunities Adam can have if he was implanted.

The idea of cochlear implants on Adam made the couple grew distant. Dan badly wanted Adam to hear again while Laura is the opposite. She even said to her friend, 'Maybe it would have been easier if Adam was born deaf' (omg!). Even both their parents noticed that there's something going on between Dan and Laura.

During a family dinner, as Dan passed the mashed potatoes to Adam, Adam suddenly said, 'Daddy' repeatedly and 'Daddy, thank you'. Everyone at the table was speechless (hihi! Pun intended. Ok, ok, they were shocked). As Dan answered his phone, Laura and her parents (who were also there) went to the kitchen to discuss about Adam suddenly speaking. As they fought using sign-language, Laura's parents then confessed that Laura actually had hearing as well when she was born. They didn't want to tell Laura that because they want Laura to believe that she was born deaf like them too (Adoy. Very proud deaf people, aren't they?)

Later on, as Dan and Laura were not seeing eye-to-eye on things anymore, they filed for a divorce and fought for custody battle. Dan admitted that if he gets Adam, he will have him implanted while Laura on the other hand said she will let him be deaf as he is.

I didn't like the ending. They didn't show what was the judge's decision. Instead, Dan went to see Laura and they reconciled. The end. No cochlear implant. No Adam growing up unimplanted and signing away. Duh.

I have to admit, it was pretty nice I guess, for a movie showing a part of audiologist scope of work. Good to learn how to give informative counseling and also on understanding parents with hearing impaired children. There are just so many issues to consider.

It was pretty cool how they always correct people who said 'deaf' to 'hearing impaired'. Deaf is just too blunt a word.

It was also cool how the movie showed how the hearing impaired people live- captions in a movie so that they too can watch movies in the cinema; and assistive listening device like the door alarm, where when the doorbell rings, the lights in the house will blink repeatedly.

Recommend it to everyone in the audiology field especially. I think we could always learn a thing or two from it.

Ok back to hearing aids, hehe.

Clinical Exam Fever

What are the chances of seeing the very word that I will be tested upon on a lorry?

Especially audiology terms?

Like, ZERO right?

But of course, chances are just chances.

Fate has decided to let me actually see the word RCG on a lorry.

Yeah, lorry.

How odd was that.

Except of course, I'm sure it means something else. But FYI, in audiology, RCG means Required Coupler Gain, of which we calculate to determine the amplification for hearing aids, in simpler terms.

I didn't know what the RCG on the lorry means as I think my heart stopped beating for a sec seeing the word. I was speechless. Honestly I did not want to know what it means anyway.

Basically, I think it's a sign for me to STUDY.

Okay, okay, I get it.

But I still want to watch a movie with bestie tomorrow. Haha.

Pray for me please! :(

The Better You Eat, The Better You Hear!

For this semester, final year students were divided into groups to present a topic for Audiology Seminar. Two groups did forums; the other two posters. Being the first group to 'register', my group did poster. The brilliant and beautiful people in my group are: Dalila, Muzlihah, Merlinda and Ee Ling. Our topic: Food and Hearing.

Haa. Food. That got your attention right?

Personally, this topic is so relevant. Everyone I met, okay, actually mostly the older adults that I met, would always ask on food that affect hearing. You'd think us audiology students would know. But we didn't. We weren't taught about this. But now ... thanks to ehem, my group's presentation ... we know. ;p

We worked our butts off for this presentation, seeing that nobody is an expert on this topic, including the lecturers. We strived to make the best presentation ever, and we really had fun doing it! It was the most enjoyable group work, thanks to the interesting topic. Kudos to Merlinda for suggesting it.

So. What are the food that affect hearing?

I'll just summarize what my group presented.

Firstly we handed out colourful pamphlets to everyone.

We presented on the BAD food. We explained mainly on two types of lipids - triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein - which research had proven are associated with hearing loss, as well as their underlying mechanisms.

Some of the examples of the BAD food are: alcohol, caffeine and high cholesterol food.



You need to eat well to hear well with the GOOD food. Food that can help reduce risks of hearing loss are categorized as anti-oxidant, vitamin B12, folate and herbs. The examples for these categories as shown on the poster are:
1. Folate: whole grain, spinach, nuts
2. Vitamin B12: broccoli, fish, milk
3. Anti-oxidant: blueberries, green tea, tomatoes, oranges, grapes
4. Herbs: ginkgo biloba



To help you understand better, here's a video. Enjoy~



The production crew caught in the act ;p (btw, the theme is pink, red and white, if you didn't notice)

Noise Damages Hearing

Upon working on a group assignment, one of my group members came across this video. I thought it's very cute, simple and straight-forward. You don't need to be an audiologist to understand it. It's less than a minute so do take a look. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b56kuLWPMQs

Conclusion: Take care of your hearing okay?! :)

Chicken Pox 101

As I have mentioned, I had chicken pox. It has been two weeks now. Today would be the 16th day. It has dried out but then some of the dead skin has not disattach itself from me.

The scar on my face. for MAS.
I decided to write in about the experience and what everyone has been advising me throughout the painless yet depressing ordeal.

The most important question: How did I get the chicken pox?

A day before the outbreak of the evil red spots, I hosted an open house for my dear friends. It was suspected initially that one of the guests brought the damned virus and spreaded it to me. It was further supported and theorized by the fact that i had an open wound (due to the lack of skill in opening lemang, which had become a joke for my father, tsk, tsk); so I was a sure-victim. The theory was acceptable to many especially odit, as he said I had the chicken pox because he couldn't come to the open house. Yes, odit, very funny.

It was also suspected that my eldest brother was the virus spreader as he had been complaining of having red spots all over his body. But then he confirmed that it wasn't chicken pox, just mild rash.

However, the theory was rejected totally by my friend, Nora who said I must have gotten the virus a week before the open house. Because the virus needs time to replicate. Therefore, I must have gotten it during the early days of Raya. I met a lot of people for Raya. Alas, the spreader could not be traced. Lucky for him/her for being spared from my wrath.

Anyway. I was given MC for a week. Thus, I spent much of the time in front of my laptop, telling anyone who bothers about my ailment. Some were always so thoughtful by asking how was I doing, which I very much appreciate. Thanks guys, you know who you are! Some even gave a nickname to it, two people to be exact, called it chicky. Quite geli but Mas and Mer seemed to enjoy saying it.

I had fruitful discussions as almost everyone I talked to contributed something in expanding my knowledge on chicken pox. Coincidentally that very weekend, Utusan Mingguan featured an article about chicken pox in the health section. But then the article was more to parents' awareness for their small children. Adults down with chicken pox like moi would not be affected much.

Apparently, there are some Dos and Don'ts in Chicken Pox as well.

The Dos:
1. Get MC as soon as you detect the red spots. Do not spread to other people. It is not nice and if somehow you spread it, the person who gets it will be very pissed off, especially if it's her second time (hrmm, this sounds a lot like me).
2. Use calamine lotion to cool down your body and ease the itchiness.
3. Use semambu leaves by blending it and rub it all over the dried spots. You can also bath with it. This helps to clear the scars.


The Indians usually use this leaves because they believed something about it that I don't know as my mother also did not elaborate (I think she also doesn't know but pretends she does! hehe). An acquaintance told me, use curry leaves as it is really effective in removing the scars. Duh, curry leaves? I think she meant the semambu leaves. Thanks anyway for your, erm. Thanks anyway.
4. Consume coconot drink. It was believed that coconut drink helps to recover back the fluid that you lost. Chicken pox is named cacar air in Malay after all. But this is not supported by research, according to the Utusan article.
5. Use Vitamin E oil as it also helps to remove the scars. I am using Natur E (Garden of Eden) and it has shown good results so far. Not immediately; nevertheless.
It can be purchased in pharmacies; don't expect it to be rm10 though.

Now, the Dont's:
1. SCRATCH. Period.
2. Eat oily food.
3. Eat seafood.
4. Eat chicken.
*These food are not good for the scars.
5. Eat soy sauce. It will make the scars black. Unpretty.
6. Go out or touch things or share food like you don't have chicken pox.
7. Cook or be anywhere near the kitchen when someone is cooking. The pox will pop if you do.

Hrmm. I think that's it. That's what I remember so far.

In relating chicken pox to audiology. If you have chicken pox while you are pregnant, your baby might develop hearing loss.

Chicken pox is so not nice.

Thesis Progress Presentation

If I need to describe it in one word: SUCCESS! :) (in the tone of that cartoon character, Dexter, hihi)
To quote my head of department, 'Well done, Nadirah.'
The Dynamic Duo of EduLink excelled once again, hehe.
Okay, enough of the bragging. Although I was praised, there were feedbacks as well from the lecturers.
Apparently, some of my lecturers are within the age range of 50 - 60 years old, which is my target population, which I sometimes refer as the elderly. They didn't like it. They didn't like to be referred as the elderly. Touchy much, hehe. So I need to always just say 'older adults' instead.
I need to review back the literature i used to support my thesis. I need to consider the age range of those studies. 50 - 60 year old is not the same as a 70 - 80 year old. Quoting Prof Kosta, 'In the Europe, 50 is the new 30, and 60 is the new 40'. Erm, yeah.
I need to refine my reference writing skills, apparently there's much to learn on the conventional way of referring journals.
My co-supervisor was concerned whether I have any problems in getting subjects. Proudly I explained on how my family members are very much involved so yeah, it's all good.
Basically nothing much, now need to focus on other presentations and clinical exams! Am freaking out here, people!

My First Part-Time Job

The Jedi Baby ;p


I was called in to help out in the Department of Speech & Hearing (DSH) of Sunway Medical Centre. I was appointed as a technician, coming as a locum to do Automated Auditory Brainstem Response to newborn babies.

SunMed is one of the major hospitals that has started the Newborn Hearing Screening Program (NHS). All mothers are advised to agree to have their newborns screened. Those who don't agree will be consulted until they agree. Of course some still don't.

FYI, NHS is really important in early detection of hearing loss, especially for high risk babies, where the high risk being jaundice, prematurity, low birth weight, low APGAR score, asphyxia, meconium aspiration and so on. With early detection there will be early intervention which will bring to great prognosis for the child.

Anyway, the DSH were short of staff and was estimating a big volume of deliveries on the very 'ong' date: 080808. I was supposed to come on Friday, 080808 and Saturday 090808. After much thought and messages between the powers-that-be, I didn't go for the Friday stint. Instead, I just came on Saturday.

There were 17 babies (if my memory serves me correctly) delivered the day before. Most of them Chinese of course. My supervisor-turned-colleague told me at SJMC, there were 15 babies.

How crazy was that?

Since it was my first day at work, I was pretty slow. And the babies were so uncooperative and being difficult. (To pass the screening, babies need to be quiet if not asleep to get nice waves and good results). I think I only managed to do only 5 babies during that 4-hours+ stint. But boy, was I exhausted. I nearly fainted due to long hours of standing! And I had no breakfast!

The next next Friday and Saturday, I asked the DSH people if I could come again. They welcomed me with open arms. I guess they really need the extra pairs of hands, regardless of my poor performance on my first day. I vowed to give my best.

I kept on coming on every Fridays and Saturdays onwards up to September. As the days go by I managed to do things pretty fast. However, there were days when the nursery was pretty packed, and the nurses there were all grumpy and they blamed me for being slow. Hello?! Do you think screening is easy? It's not okay! A lot of factors need to be considered.




Some days there were only a few babies, and I had to do data entry on the number of babies screened for the past few months. It was boring but I'm being paid, so whatever.

My First Paycheck :)


I only did two months as I was not progressing with my thesis and my studies, which should be my priorities in the first place. Besides, they hired an assistant, so it won't be the end of the world once I stop coming.

Out of Luck

I was all pumped out to shift into full gears for Wednesday, 15th Oct. I booked that date among my friends early, about 5 days before. I had 4 confirmed subjects coming and more to reconfirm.

But that was last Saturday.

On Sunday it all crashed down on me.

I'm down with chicken pox. I was given MC for a week.

I cried and cried and cried.

I bawled my eyes out.

When I discovered the red spots all over my body, my mother asked me, 'Why are you crying? It's only chicken pox.'

In my tears, 'I have two presentations and I have appointments to do my thesis this week. Next week I have to present my thesis progress. How am I going to do all that now? This is really not a good time to be sick. This is not a good time to get chicken pox.'

My mother laughingly said, 'Then go to them (your lecturers), and say, "I have chicken pox. What do you want me to do?"'

I retorted, 'It's not funny, Mak' and continued drying my tears out.

The next day, my face and whole body was full with red spots and it keeps spurting by the hour. It was really gross.

One of my subject who was yet to reconfirm before agreed to come on Wednesday to total the subjects at 5. Unhappily I cancelled him. 5 more could not make it on Wednesday and 1 more just kept silent. It didn't matter anymore. It's not like I could do the test anyway.

I told my thesis-mate to proceed with hers on Wednesday but alas, bad luck seems to pass around; the HINT (Hearing in Noise Test) box that we needed to test the subjects is broken. The technician came today and said they (the company) have to send to the US to repair since they don't have the expertise (how dependent are we?).

Good news is, they'll lend us one for temporary use, but the bad news is, they don't know how soon they can give it to us.

With only a few days before progress presentation, I wonder what can we present with little amount of data??

I think it's the curse of the HINT rooms. They don't like to 'shift places'. Or someone 'kacau' the spirit inside the room. What do you think?

Haha. I'm just joking, I don't believe in those kind of things, and mind you, I also don't believe in luck. I guess 'dah tak ada rezeki'. Plus, a certain si kacak always say to me, 'sakit pengampun dosa kecil'.

Do pray for the recovery of my pretty self ;)

Testing 1,2,3...

Campus S transmitter

EduLink receiver

I started my research! :)
My parents were the first two subjects. First, I did the diagnostic tests: Pure Tone Audiometry, Tympanometry and Acoustic Reflex test to check their hearing levels and auditory pathways (which proven that they are totally eligible to be my subjects, I am so proud of them!); Double Dichotic Digit Test to find out their ear advantage scores and proceeded with the testing on the benefits of EduLink.

the setup

the subject seats here

the tester's small, cute seat

For that, I needed to find their speech perception scores in noise without them wearing EduLink; wear it on the right ear; on the left ear; and on both ears.
My father was supportive all the way just following what I asked him to. Not to say my mother was not supportive, but i could see she was sceptical most of the time, INITIALLY, but then she got the hang of it and was fully cooperative.
The testing procedure was pretty straightforward. I was on a roll until my friend's mother came. I performed the diagnostic tests, and the results were not I wanted. She couldn't be my subject. I was dejected. I called up everyone that I could think of who is still in KL, but they were all busy with raya preparations. So I only managed to get two so far.
But, the best thing about raya is, I managed to collect more subjects when I went visiting! So yay for me, can't wait to get more results! :)
Anyone who has relatives or friends whom you think would not mind being my subject, please, please contact me. Refer to post 'Looking for Subjects' for more details.

P/s: Selamat Hari Raya everyone!

Audio Break Fast Session

On the 8th of September 2008. History was made.
For the first time ever, the Muslim UKM undergraduates of Audiology, Batch 11, break fast. TOGETHER.
Weird, isn't it? You'd think we'd hangout gazillion times already after three years stuck with each other. And there were only 10 of us, excluding the non-Muslims!
Anyway.
So we managed to find time to break fast at the ever-expanding Chop & Steak. We had to reserve a table, that's how popular that place is. The girls came in early, of course, with nothing to do except picture-taking and drying our throats out. The boys came later, as expected.
When the food was served, everyone practically drooled just looking at the food. And once the Azan was heard, no one was heard talking as all of us dug in greedily into our delicious food.
What did we eat, you ask? Well, I'm going to type in what's the name of the meal and you can refer to my facebook account (re: Audio Break Fast Album) for pictures :)
Starting with the 'head of the table'. Marul had Morocco Chicken Fried Rice with cold water; Mazly had T-Bone Steak with Apple Juice, Miha had Sizzling Chicken with Apple Juice; I had Sizzling Steak with Watermelon Juice; Nora had Mix Steak with Lychee; Iema had Fish & Chips with Thai Honey Coconut Drink; Suriya had Sizzling Steak with Apple Juice; Suraya had Chicken Chop with Orange Juice; Khai had Chicken Gordon Bleu with Lychee and the weirdest combo had got to be Dalila's, which I deliberately type in last, where she ordered Roasted Chicken with Iced Coffee. 'Say what?' you say? I guess she misses coffee ;p

before

after


The session went pretty great; good food, good ambience and good company.
Hopefully there will be more hangouts after this, other than just breaking fast.

Tis the Season for... D0D0L~!

It's that time of the year again, the fasting month and it's already the fourth day. Time flies so fast doesn't it? Before you know it, it's RAYA! Hrmm. And what would make your raya even more special this year?
You buy Dodol Melaka.

Absolute good stuff, truly recommend it to have it served on raya. Or if you can't wait, eat during buka also can.
Don't know where to get it?
View http://dodol-melaka.blogspot.com for details.
Happy Ramadhan everyone! :)

22nd Birthday :)

I just had to write this.
I had the most amazing, fantastic, remarkable, marvelous birthday ever.
Seriously.
So I want to convey my thanks virtually to everyone who made my birthday wonderful. Coz everyone likes to be appreciated, right? :)

Firstly, my family and relatives. Thank you for the nasi dagang at breakfast, the wishes and celebration at home (sorry I made you guys wait til I come back), the scrumptious cake, perfume, personalized towel, kain baju kurung, sweater, card, car sticker (?), book, necklace, eye liner, lip balm and money. Lots of it.

Thank you to si kacak Faiz Mokhtar for the wish, birthday song, little gifts and the oh-so-romantic candle-lit dinner, not forgetting the coming (soon, I hope :P) birthday present, haha.

Thank you to Mas for the wish, cute birthday card, nice car freshener and the fabulous watch! Love it loads!!

Thank you to Fit for wishing and posting the super gorgeous brooches and selendang Lovely!

Thank you to Fazliny for the wish and cute but cannot-be-mentioned-here piece of clothing, hehe :)

Thank you to Sarah, Mer and Suat Wei for the wish, birthday dinner at Chili's and the lipstick. I totally love it!

Thank you to Dalila for the wish and lovely kain!

Thank you to Jun Xuan for the wish and nicely modified horoscope frame :) No wonder we're so compatible ;p

Thank you to Iza for wishing and coming all the way from Sg Petani (;p) to give the silky grey top with the cute paperbag (?) ;)

Thanks Aliah for the wish and cute black shirt and pink selendang. Can't wait to wear it on our next hangout!

Thanks Suriya for wishing on my birthday and giving me that HUGE adorable mug. Anyone fancy a cuppa? ;P

Thank you to Faetz for the wish and lunch (was that a birthday treat even? I'm assuming it is, hehe)

Thank you to Nora for your call, albeit belated ;p

Thank you to Amira, Nora (coursemate), Sam, Hana, Berett, Imran, Bank Islam (?, haha), Inda, Peanut, Jau, Jejan, Myra and Izzati for your smses :)

Thank you to Zack, Alex, Skynext (?), Zul, Iela, Amirul, Chidah, Azim, Etong, Mariani, Nadia, Abby, Shima, Odit, Ashraf, Irfan, Bulost, Haziq, Jp, Nazar, Zatil, Fadilah and Paktam for your virtual wishes, although I reminded some of you, haha.

Thank you to Kak Ija and Mr Sara of SunMed.

Thanks to BF, Mas, Sarah, Imran for wishing multiple times! :)

Thanks to GSC for the free movie coupon.

Thanks to Jusco and Diners Club for various coupons, although I didn't use most of them.

Sigh (happily). I just love birthdays :)

Clinical Attachment III: HTAR Klang

Upon entering the first semester of my final year, me and my coursemates were briefed on our clinical requirements. For the first time ever in the history of audiology in Malaysia (so the drama queen :P) final years will be sent for external clinic in selected hospitals: Putrajaya, Sungai Buloh, Klang, Kuala Terengganu, Seremban and Melaka.
Lucky for me, I was designated to Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang, together with Chun Suan, Umar and si penyibuk Luqman, under the supervision of Cik Siti Aminah.

I must say, it was the best clinical placement yet.
Firstly, the setting. It's quite nice although not completely equipped. I felt at ease working there and they're going to have MyHINT (a speech test) soon. Great! The only thing lacking (in my opinion) is they don't have enough chairs in the room. However, my supervisor did clarify that she doesn't want unnecessary people to overcrowd the room, which I accept as a solid reason even as my legs were giving out on me. (27/8/08: I went back on 25/8 and there were two green bar stools, which were supercool! So no lacking point anymore for HTAR Klang then. It's all goo0oo0od :P)
Talking about supervisors, Cik Siti is definitely a good one. I am all thumbs-up for her. She's patient, helpful, efficient, easy-going and really committed to her profession. I learned a lot from her and seriously, am more confident doing clinic under her supervision than anyone else. Other supervisors simply made me kancheong with their presence or trying-to-be-helpful-but-not interruptions.

I got to observe an ENT operation, tympanoplasty to be exact. It is a surgical procedure of repairing the eardrum. While changing out of the surgical gear, overheard the surgeons saying something like 'I shouldn't have blablabla...' followed by a 'Never mind, you learn by mistake...'. Excuse me? Did I hear her right? Mistake in the operation theatre?? Those sentences only confirmed my doubtfulness on doctors. I hope I don't have to experience situations where my life or my loved ones' lives are at the hands of the doctors. The movie 'Awake' is forever etched in my brain, thanks again to Mas.
Other plus points of doing the placement in Klang include staying at the Nurses Hostel which is just a less-than-10-minutes walk to the hospital and charged at the cheapest rate ever of RM1.00. Was a bit freaked out by the crows' nest in the room initially, but when cleaned, it was an okay room. Besides, on the weekends I didn't stay there as I went back home which is possible for me unless I was placed for example, in Kuala Terengganu. So yeah, quite enjoying myself during the three weeks.
One other important thing is, it's just a 10 minutes drive to the biggest Jusco in Malaysia (I think), Jusco Bukit Tinggi! I don't mind being placed anywhere; as long as there is a decent shopping complex, I'm a happy girl :)
Nothing but good reviews from me for HTAR Klang. Definitely a good place for clinical placement!

Lab Coats ≠ Cafeteria Coats

Ok this post actually goes out to all doctors, pharmacists, labbists (hehe, i meant lab people, e.g. biotechies, microbies, etc), and anyone else who uses the lab coats.
Last month my department invited a guest speaker, Dr Noor Ibrahim Mohamed Sakian, from UKM (of course) to talk about Infection Control, Professional Liability and Pediatric Sedation.
Basically, it's about hygienic practice in audiology. To cut it short, Dr Noor suggested that audiologists (including clinical students) should be wearing the lab coats and gloves during clinic, as currently we are not. However, mindful of his suggestion, it is not practical for audiologists to do so as we do not want children to be scared of us, as in their mindset: lab coats + gloves > doctors = traumatic experience. So what the audiologists can do is maintain a practice as hygienic as possible, e.g. using sterilized soap and not using the same probes on different patients.
Anyway, moving on from the talk, I actually want to emphasize on the use of lab coats. As most are probably aware, lab coats are mainly for hygienic and protection purposes. In fact, according to Jones, VA, white coats are sometimes seen as the distinctive dress of physicians, who have worn them for over 100 years (thus noting the traumatic experience of children as mentioned above).



But that is still beside the point. My point is, people are using lab coats not only during their practice/clinic/research but also during their lunchtime, driving, everywhere!
And that practice, is so NOT hygienic. To quote Dr Noor, lab coats are not cafeteria coats! They're not suppose to protect your working clothes from curry spills! And are you not aware that you are spreading infections by wearing the lab coat all over the place?!
So please, whoever reading this, take note in wearing the lab coat. To be distinct among other professionals is fine; I mean, you studied for 5-6 years, of course you want people to know you're a doctor without having to introduce yourself right? But I am sure not wanting to spread diseases is also an important issue for anyone, so keep your lab coat in your lab/clinic/office okay? No need to wear it around. Plus it'll maintain the whiteness of the lab coat.
So please, do wear lab coats appropriately. Thank you.

Appreciating the Elderly

Being in the audiology field clinically since my 3rd year has exposed me to various types of patients from different backgrounds. However, one aspect common to all, in particular to the geriatric population is that there are families who do not take care of their fragile and old parents. Initially I was surprised and appreciative of independent patients who came in by themselves with their equally old spouses for hearing assessments.
In cases where they need to wear hearing aids, it saddened me when they claimed that they have quite a few children and none seemed to actually want to buy the aids for them. I mean, I know those things are quite expensive, but if there are let say, 5 of them and all are working, surely they could pool in money to at least buy for one side. There are hundreds of applications for hearing aids funding and not all are confirmed to get it. If working-children are able to buy the aids for their own parents, think of how many others who simply are not financially-able, will then deservedly get the funding.
And then there was a case, where his old man accidentally fell off his bike on road and consequently is wheelchair-bound, and has hearing loss. His son actually had the guts to say out loud ‘it’s so difficult to take care of this old man; he is deaf and complains too much’. I was shocked, but my supervisor at that time quickly retorted ‘He took care of you since you were born; now it’s your turn lah’. That got the guy to shut up.
Despite that, there are cases of those who really take good care of their elderly. I had the opportunity to observe a patient who has hearing loss and was accompanied not only by his spouse, but also his son and grandson. Talk about family love! But seriously, people should not take their parents for granted. They’re the ones who brought you into this world in the first place; the least you could do is take care of them.
Here’s a poem complimentary of my bestie, Mas, (a nursing student) which was actually her assignment to interpret, of which I still kept, glued in my clinical notebook. Very touching, and really motivates me to be a better person.

“Crabbit Old Woman”

What do you see, what do you see?
Are you thinking, when you look at me –
A crabbit old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with far-away eyes,
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice,
I do wish you’d try.
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe.
Who, unresisting or not; lets you do as you will
With bathing and feeding the long day is filled.
Is that what you’re thinking,
Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes,
Nurse, you’re looking at me.
I’ll tell you who I am as I sit here so still!
As I rise to your bidding, as I eat at your will.
I’m a small child of 10 with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who loved one another –
A young girl of 16 with wings on her feet,
Dreaming that soon now a lover she’ll meet,
A bride soon at 20 – my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.
At 25 now I have young of my own
Who needs me to build a secure happy home;
A woman of 30, my young now grows fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last;
At 40, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man’s beside me to see I don’t mourn;
At 50 once more babies play around my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look at the future, I shudder with dread,
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I’ve known;
I’m an old woman now and nature is cruel –
Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body is crumbled, grace and vigor depart,
But inside this old carcass, a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells,
I remember the joy, I remember the pain,
And I’m loving and living life over again.
I think of the years all too few – gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last –
So open your eyes, nurse, open and see,
Not a crabbit old woman, look closer –
See Me.

Looking for Subjects

Are/Do you:

1. An adult aged between 50 to 60 years old?
2. A native Malay speaker? (Malaysians please)
3. Have symmetrical normal hearing in both ears?
4. Have type A tympanogram in both ears?
5. Right-handed?
6. Live in Klang Valley?

If you answer yes to all of the above, CONGRATULATIONS! You are eligible to be a subject in my research :)

If you fulfill questions no. 1, 2, 5 and 6 but are not so sure about no. 3 and 4, you are welcome to see me and do a hearing assessment. For FREE!

If you don't fulfill any of those criteria but know someone who does, please do let me know and drop a comment here. Your recommendation is highly appreciated, seriously.

Basically, what I will have the chosen ones @ selected subjects do is to go for a diagnostic hearing assessment which includes Pure Tone Audiometry and Immittance Test and then do a speech test using MyHINT (also known as Malay Hearing in Noise Test) without wearing the EduLink and with the EduLink on both ears and in the left and right ears respectively.

And that's it! Easy-peasy. So anyone interested? :)

Clinical Attachment II: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

After a week in SunMed, I did my time in HUSM, Kubang Kerian for five weeks, or to be exact, 20 days of clinic (due to public hols, got sickie, and attended a wedding).
Was very excited to go there, as I have heard rave reviews from other clinical supervisors who were positively encouraging for us students to go there.
I must say, things were quite different in HUSM.
Firstly, the working days are from Sunday to Thurday. Honestly, I thought the time just flew by with starting the week on Sundays and Thursday being the last day of work for the week. I guess it has something to do with my mindset of the Monday blues and not having to go through that in HUSM.
Then there was the set-up and the supervisors.
For the set-up there were five audiological rooms. Each room being more specific for a particular testing, e..g.: room 5 for ABR and ASSR; room 4 for AABR and DPOAE screening.
There are 4 supervisors: Cik Su, Cik Roza, Cik Ninda and En. Khary, all of whom are UKM graduates of 1st, 2nd, 8th and 2nd batch respectively. And then there was Kak Sar, a technologist who knows the ORL department inside out; En. Adnan, also a technologist whom is just starting his degree in Audiology this very semester!; En. Yus of unknown origin but acts as the technologist at times; and Kak Lin who's the attendant of the clinic.
Anyway it was truly an experience doing my attachment there in HUSM. I learned some things I may not learn in UKM, but then that was the purpose of having us scattered all over the country in the first place right? And I also had my ears suctioned by an ENT doctor for free!
One thing for sure is: am I thankful and glad that I study in UKM and not in UIA or USM. Not that I'm insulting or anything, but those universities are still new in Audiology while the UKM students are blessed with experienced and excellent lecturers and supervisors.
Nevertheless, thank you to everyone in Audiology Clinic of HUSM for having me there. May we meet again, which I am sure we will! :)

Statistically Corrected

Met Prof Baharuddin today for sample size calculation. He's the reknowned statistician in the whole of FSKB, UKM. He actually pursued statistics because he loves it. Hard to believe anyone could ever love the complexity of statistics but I guess someone has to right? If not who will teach us ignorant students :).
Anyway.
He told me the formula that I used for the proposal presentation was absolutely wrong because that particular formula is actually for those doing a prevalence study. So malu! coz pandai-pandai saja, hehe.Blushingly, I asked him what is the right formula for my study.
He asked me what is the study and I just handed him a copy of my proposal presentation. First, he corrected my title, to quote 'it should be among older adults not in older adults'. 'Aye aye sir' I said to myself, and thought, 'hrmm, funny how the deputy dean @ my supervisor had let it pass and I am corrected by the statistician whom I am meeting for the first and probably last time'. He arrived to the objective of my study on measuring benefits, so after scrutinizing the very small font of my statistics notes, taught me to use which values to put in in the most suitable formula.
He advised me to do a pilot study on 20 subjects that fulfill the inclusive and exclusive criteria in order to get the values. Being a smart-alec, I was like, '20 subjects?? Okay... can I use the results from the pilot study's subjects as the results for the real study's subjects?'
And he said I can't. I then whined on where am I going to find so many subjects and he said to me that if you want to simply guess the number of subjects, don't come and find him to innocently ask him to teach and then not applying what is taught. I came to my senses and agreed, because it's like an insult to him right, if I do so.
After that he relented and said I can use 10 subjects for the pilot study. I asked him if he wants to be my subject and he agreed! Yay. So i guess it was kind of a win-win situation where he got his msg across to me (on understanding what he said and applying it) and I get a subject in return.
Hope he's a cooperative subject, that is, if he fulfills the subject's criterion first, of course :)

Thesis Proposal Presentation

Firstly. Yay, I'm done with it ;)
It was a 3-day marathon of presentation after presentation.
I presented yesterday (17/7). And my supervisor said it was okay~! A relief, (and a success, may I add? 2 friends said it was ok too and one even said, to quote, 'like so bergaya saja'. hehe :P) considering I have never met her!(supervisor I mean) Just came up with it based on the one-time meeting with the co-supervisor and continuous discussion with fellow thesis-mate.
FYI, before presentation day, I presented it roughly to my boyfriend, my cousin, my aunt and two speech students. To make sure that on actual presentation I tak syok sendiri, hehe. And they understood well! But admitted that it was a bit technical, of course.
So what is it that I proposed, u ask?
I'll try to explain it in laymen terms.
Basically, it is an advanced research of one of my seniors. As I've mentioned in an earlier blog, she did the same thing except her population is the schoolchildren. So her findings revealed puzzling results, where the benefits of bilateral are similar to left-unilateral fitting while the benefits of bilateral is higher than right-unilateral fitting.
As it is generally known, the right ear hears better because of how the brain works. It's called the right ear advantage. So from her findings, my senior hypothesized that when wearing the EduLink on the left ear, the benefit of EduLink (which has been proven where wearing it is better than not wearing it. To quote my bf, 'Duh, that's why it's created in the first place') combined with the right ear advantage leads to the similar benefit of bilateral fitting. The right-unilateral fitting on the other hand, with only the EduLink benefit and no left ear contribution resulted in the obvious better benefit of bilateral than unilateral fitting.
Am I making sense so far?
That very hypothesis justifies this research where I'll be conducting it on the elderly population. Studies have reported that the older people have decreased right ear advantage. So I need to find out if there is a right ear advantage effect that influences the EduLink fitting, besides determining the relationship between both variables.
I think that was a very straight-forward explanation.
With a good start on the proposal, I hope I will be on the right track all the way :)

The First Meeting (Finally!)

Friday, 11th of July was a significant date in my thesis history. I finally get to meet my supervisor! Mind you, co-supervisor. My main supervisor, the 'mother-of-audiology-in-Malaysia' to quote a certain clinical supervisor, had to attend a meeting at the last minute and re-scheduled my meeting with her with Dr Cila instead.
Nevertheless. It was a very fruitful meeting.
The night before the meeting I frantically put up a mediocre proposal for my supervisor's attention. I must say, I was thankful that she discussed about the thesis first before seeing a little bit of my proposal. I thought my proposal was an embarrassment, it was nowhere near what she and Dr Siti wanted. And she was very understanding on the fact that it was my first ever meeting.
So she set things straight for me and my thesis mate and gave very useful journals.
She advised to get as much literature support as possible, or in her own words, 'need to read more' and be critical of the journals read. Oh and get a larger thesis notebook (She actually showed her own collection of thesis notebooks that she had over the years. 'saje nak eksyen la tu', hehe just kidding Dr Cila! ;p).
The meeting got me quite motivated to do my best on the proposal presentation later on. But now... I am so bogged down with all the journals, I don't think I can read any more.
HeLp!

Clinical Attachment I: Sunway Medical Centre

One of our requirements for graduation is to do 360 hours of clinic. With 4 semesters to do so, I would have to deal with patients for 90 hours each semester, which is not possible due to (usually) public holidays and insufficient patients at the clinic. Therefore, we are sent all over the country's medical centres and hospitals to do our clinical attachment. This is to 'top-up' our clinical hours, in simpler terms.
So living in PJ, I automatically chose Sunway Medical Centre as my training centre. I applied since February this year and fortunately for me, the good people of SunMed accepted! However, I can only come for a week as they are preparing to move to a new area.
With only 12 days of break after my final paper, I started my attachment on the 12th of May 2008. It took me only about 10 minutes by car to get there, and I parked at the visitors' parking area. (Actually, 4 days before that I came to SunMed to check out the place, where to park, etc, and I thought of getting staff's sticker or something, but apparently, the accounts people think one week of attachment is not significant enough for a sticker and asked me to park at the visitors' parking. Cruelty to newbie I must say).
I was supposed to register at the HR Dept. at 9am, but I reached there at 8.15am. Yeah, I know, 'very the semangat wan'. I thought I'd be stuck in traffic but then it was smooth sailing all the way. So I just went to the HR straight away and waited there. When I got there, there were already several other students waiting to register. I noted that I was the only Malay there.
So all of us trainees/interns/whatever you may call it were briefed by the HR guy Mr Ken and he disposed us to our departments respectively. I was sent to the Department of Speech & Hearing up at the 6th floor, but somehow the Audiology Clinic is at the 1st floor. I was introduced to the speechies there before Ms Tye (Head of DSH & also KKA lecturer when I was in first year) took me to the Audiology Clinic.
I was greeted by Ms Mazwin (Head of Audio Clinic & KKK lecturer when I was in 3rd year) who somehow forgot that I was coming that day (pardon her, she’s a super busy, multi-tasker woman). Nevertheless she let me observe for the first hour before disposing me to Dr Liza at the nursery.
Dr Liza is the first Malaysian audiologist that I met who pursued audiology as her first degree in the US. And she continued on doing her masters and PhD there as well. A very pleasant woman, the best supervisor I have yet to have! Dr Liza took me under her reign for the rest of the week almost 24/7. (I think she was super glad when I finished on Saturday, haha).
We started at the nursery, where I also met Rosemary, who's actually not working there anymore as she's moving to England. I saw how they do UNHS using the Automated ABR. Very good stuff for assessment; it's fast and simple but very costly and can be very tiring, especially when waiting for the babies to lay still and be quiet.
After the nursery, we went back to the clinic and I observed Dr Liza doing hearing assessments. Initially, I thought there would not be many patients, but then on that day, it was really busy, and I was quite overwhelmed. There were patients every hour and I only had a break for one hour before another patient came in. I have to say, the 9-5pm work time was utilized to the most. That night, I slept early as I was exhausted!
The 2nd day wasn’t so bad as the patients were not as many. I get to meet another audiologist, Mr. Saravanan, a UKM-graduate. He shared his experiences with me and showed some assistive listening devices that I have yet to see in the clinics I have been to so far. I intended to attend a talk by a nurse of the nursery on G6PD, but they postponed the talk. I did get an article about it though. Very informative.
Third day onwards I began to get the hang around things. In the mornings I would go straight to the nursery and do hearing screenings. Depending on how many babies are there, I would normally finish at around 11 am. Then I would go down to the clinic and observe/assist Dr Liza.
I noticed the approach in the private setting is far more different than the government setting. The private setting really prioritizes the patients first. They give their best service and they don’t push the patients. Yes, they’re profit-based, but somehow what truly concerns them is what the patients want, regardless if it does not benefit them much in return. The most important thing is patients’ satisfaction. No wonder the clinic is packed with patients, they’re all satisfied customers; and when they’re happy, they promote SunMed.
However, there are patients who think that since they’re paying so much money, they should get first class treatment. Come on, we are all humans, and we have our imperfections. Some of the mothers there can be real bitches to the nurses at the nursery (I heard them gossiping, of course). But other than the dirt on bad mothers, it can be quite fun to hear the nurses tell on first-time mothers’ experiences. Fun and scary, making me think twice about having my own, haha. Looking at the face of the babies though, always made me change my mind. They’re so adorable, how could I not want them?
The attachment ended on Saturday (yes, they work on Saturdays! half day, that is), 17th of May 2008. I must say I learned a lot throughout my attachment there. And it was only for a week! I wonder how much more I could learn if I have completed 5 weeks (as suggested by my dept.) of attachment. I may have developed excellent skills and be super-competent! I wish. Looking forward to doing more attachments there before graduation :).

I Heart PJ

I know most of you will be scratching your heads wondering what is it I am going to write that relates in the making of the audiologist.
FYI, it is so related.
I have lived in PJ all my life (for the ignorant, PJ is Petaling Jaya). This place has helped shaped me into who I am today, which is an audiologist in the making.
And that's my only point, haha :)
I just want to convey my love and passion for PJ to the public as I it is really the only place I can call home.
I've been to places all over the country (yay, I finally can say I have been to all of the states of Malaysia, Kelantan was the last state) and yet nothing compares to my beloved PJ.
However, maybe in the future the PJ would stand for Putrajaya, hehe. Hopefully.
Whatever it is, I Heart PJ. Always been and always have.

The Never-Ending Quest for the First Meeting

Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh.
I think that sums the quest up well. I have STILL yet to meet my supervisors. The only weekend that I come home and I still could not get an appointment. One is on holiday while the other is not feeling well. And then I didn't get to borrow my senior's thesis (But then that's my own fault for coming late to the clinic. Padan muka is the right term for me haha)
Why is this happening to me? What have I wronged? (Okay, that's more like a question that need not be answered, hehe)
But I am taking all this as part of the challenges and obstacles that I have to face in producing the best thesis ever! (optimistic much ;p)
Bloggers, do channel your positive energy to me through your comments ;)

My Final Year Thesis

Recently I have just gotten the title for my thesis. It is very unfortunate that I got the title because I was the last one to get to my department. Sob sob much. But then, I kinda expected it anyways so I am pretty much stuck with it and life still goes on. As always.
So without making anyone holding their breath to know what the title is, it's : Benefits of unilateral and bilateral Edulink fitting on speech perception in noise in older adults.
Quite a mouthful? not unless you're in this field, hehe.
Actually even if it was the last thesis title available just for moi, I was actually thankful I got this title. Because the other titles did not interest me anyway. And honestly, I think I work well with older adults. I just hope that they can hear me well, because a lot of people keep saying I am soft-spoken. Which is a good thing I know, but not so good if I need to talk to deaf people, right?
Anyway, thankful I was, but just for a short while until I started to really think about it. That is when I started to feel stressed out. I was going, Edulink is actually designed primarily for kids, where am I going to find published journals of it on adults? Where am I going to find the adults who wear Edulink? What is actually the age range for older adults? Which population is needed? How many subjects do I have to find? How am I going to do test the subjects? and on and on the questions just kept popping out.
For anyone's interest, my coursemate is actually doing the same thing, except that she's testing it on younger adults. Another fact that I'm thankful about. At least I'm not doing this alone.
Based on the thesis assignment, we are suppose to present the proposal in the 2nd week of the new semester. Which currently is 10 weeks away. Seems like I have plenty of time on my side, but then I'm heading up to Kubang Kerian for my industrial training, and I don't think I'll be spending much time googling about my title, or anything for that matter.
So my friend and I made an appointment with our supervisors. I actually anticipated the meeting, because, well yeah, I'm sure my supervisors are gonna set things straight for us. Alas, they cancelled the appointment. I was devastated. NOT. Hehe, but a bit frustrated because I'm not going to see them at all until I get back from Kelantan, as they are superbusy.
But the good thing is, my brilliant friend found our senior's thesis which was the SAME thing except that she tested the school-age children population. So basically, some of our problems are solved with that and I just can't wait to start on my thesis. Later, that is. Or sooner, who knows? ;P